Oakland’s Laurel Book Store to close this summer

1of9Laurel Book Store opened in downtown Oakland in 2014, moving to a larger location after 13 years in the Laurel district.Photo: James Tensuan / Special to The Chronicle 2017

2of9Luan Stauss, owner of Laurel Book Store.Photo: James Tensuan / Special to The Chronicle

3of9Laurel Book Store is in the landmark 1907 Lionel J. Wilson Building.Photo: John McMurtrie / The Chronicle

4of9Luan Stauss, second from right, gives book suggestions to Joanne Mulson at Laurel Book Store in Downtown Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Lauren Stauss has struggled to keep her bookstore in the historic flatiron building open and is afraid it may close.Photo: James Tensuan, Special to The Chronicle

5of9Joseph Luadick, left, and Luan Stauss organize book orders at Laurel Book Store in Downtown Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Photo: James Tensuan, Special to The Chronicle

6of9Joanne Mulson browses at Laurel Book Store in Downtown Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.Photo: James Tensuan, Special to The Chronicle

8of9Luan Stauss, owner of Laurel Book Store, with Gretta Windmon, one of the shop’s first customers. (Photos by John McMurtrie)

9of9Laurel Book Store in downtown Oakland is four times as large as its old space in the Laurel district.Photo: John McMurtrie/The Chronicle

Laurel Book Store in downtown Oakland will close its doors this summer, four years after opening in the revitalized neighborhood near City Hall.

“Oakland is one of the most diverse and dynamic cities anywhere,” the store’s owner, Luan Stauss, wrote in a letter posted on Facebook. “The growth is evident with all the cranes on the skyline. But retail in the downtown area is a challenge.”

Stauss said she won’t renew the store’s lease when it expires at the end of August. She relocated to 1423 Broadway — after 13 years in the Laurel district — to have a space that was four times the size of the original 900-square-foot shop. She had hoped that the location, in the landmark 1907 Lionel J. Wilson Building, would attract passersby.

Last year, Stauss mounted a campaign to raise $30,000 to stay in business. However, she wrote, “Ongoing sales have not been enough to meet expenses comfortably.”

Two other bookstores remain in the neighborhood: E.M. Wolfman General Interest Small Bookstore, at 410 13th St., and Bibliomania, at 1816 Telegraph Ave.